The Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness announces with great sadness the passing of our founding director, Dr. Wilber Alexander

In Memoriam of Dr. Wil Alexander

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Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness

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Film Premiere

Spiritual Life and Wholeness

The Center seeks to develop cutting-edge opportunities for exploring whole person care and spiritual health, both academically and personally, in the lives of those involved in providing health care. Through the use of various media such as internet television, web-based educational opportunities, and the genre of narrative found in many disciplines, the Center pursues various avenues to communicate the study and experience of whole person care and spiritual health to a variety of interest groups.

In Memoriam of Dr. Wil Alexander

The Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness announces with great sadness the passing of our founding director, Dr. Wilber Alexander, who quietly passed away Wednesday, November 16. Dr. Alexander founded the Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness in 1996 (with Dr. Carla Gober-Park as his Associate Director who became Director in 2005) with the goal of developing the art and science of whole person care, a concept he introduced to the Loma Linda University Health campus in 1973.

Through the years, Wil’s impact has been far-reaching and steadfast, even attending rounds up until the last months of his life. At 95 years old, Wil never wavered in his call to ensure that all health caregivers and students understood the power of connecting to the patient’s whole story. His legacy lives on in the lives of those he taught and through the Center he lovingly founded. The word, “innerweave” was one of his favorite words because it captured how he “wove” together the various strands of medicine and healthcare, using Family Medicine as the clinical setting where ideas were tested. Recently, the Center ensured that Wil’s legacy would forever be documented through a film on Wil’s life and work called A Certain Kind of Light. The film details Wil’s work and how others on campus are continuing to teach whole person care to the next generation of caregivers. His legacy has been further established by the CLEAR Whole Person Care Model, a model based on the power of story to change lives. Wil lived his life according to the phrase, “Soli Deo Gloria” (To God be the Glory). He was also known for asking those whom he encountered, “What are you famous for?”

Here at the Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness, we believe that whole-person care is at the forefront of providing optimal health care. The center opened its doors with the vision of expanding the integration of spirituality and wholeness in health care through the avenues of research, education, and service.

A Certain Kind of Light is a short form documentary film produced by Loma Linda University Health’s Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness. This film explores the transformative power of story that provides the foundation of whole person care.

Told through the life of Dr. Wil Alexander, the audience watches him embody the value of story in relation to health and illness. You are invited to share in this experience and start a conversation about the power of story in your hospital, school, faith-based organization or community. Join us at our premiere screening, January 8, 2016 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Loma Linda University Church. Learn more...

Do you want to be part of making a difference on the lives of patients, students and others? We research, educate and practice whole person care and foster its implementation in the lives of others. We are transforming lives through whole person care. Please consider partnering with us.